Marking instrument



s. c. BROWSE 2,3653% 'MARKING INSTRUMENT Dec. 26, 1944.

Filed Feb. 11, 1944 5.12. BRUW5E ATTIII R N EYE l NVE NTUR Patented Dec. 26, 1944 UNITED STATES- PATYE 03F FIECE.

INSTRUMENT Sidney1-G..B1:owse; Toronto; Ontario; Canada I ApplicationFebrnai-y" 1 1, 1944, Serial. No. 5221721 1.01am. (c1. izo-imx This invention relates to marking; instruments an'd'i'n particular to a device designedfto' hold" marking materialhto. provide a unit which will obviate breakage of'such' material.

In the marking of iron it is usual to employ a length of soapstone which is very effective for this purpose. However, soapstone is readily breakable and as a result apractical piece of marking material is soon broken into small .pieces which are not convenient to handle. Thus, the material is often thrown away after breakage, which represents material waste. The same facts are true in respect of other marking materials. These disadvantages can be avoided by the production of a completed practical unit which will avoid breakage and be more practical to use.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a marking instrument through which breakable marking material may be readily carried and used in such a manner as to avoid breakage.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a marking instrument which takes the form of a conveniently usable unit which may be more practicably carried than the ordinary marking material itself. A still further object of the invention is to provide a marking unit which may be readily manufactured and produced at a low cost.

With these and other objects in view, the invention generally comprises a casing having a slidable holding element therein designed to receive or connect with a piece of marking material, the casing being such as to correspond in cross section with the marking material. The holder is slidable in the body whereby to project a desired portion .of the marking material therefrom for marking purposes, while preferably the casing is provided with a clip in order than it may be carried in the pocket conveniently. Preferably the clip functions also to retain the material in the casing.

The invention will be fully understood by a reference to the following detailed specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the marking instrument according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the casing unit for holding the marking material.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the marking material and the holding member designed to cooperate with the casing.

Fig.4 is anenlarged longitudinal section taken throughv the marking, instrument; and.

Fig. 5 is. a transverse section, taken substan tially along the lines 5 -5 ofFig". 4:

Referring to the drawing, A indicates the marking instrument or unit as a whole, which includes a casing B housing marking material C. The casing is of generally elongated form such as shown and of a cross section to correspond with the cross section of marking material which it is to carry. This casing is open at the topas indicated at H], closed at the bottom as indicated at I l and is formed with a longitudinal slot [2. The slot l2 extends at least substantially the length of the casing B, and for convenience in manufacture may extend throughout its whole length.

The marking material C has a suitable clip or holding member l3 mounted at one end. This may conveniently take the form of a clip as shown in the drawing made up of a strip of material bent upon itself as at M to form a U- shaped receiving channel, one end of the material being bent upon itself to form an actuating lug 15. The actuating lug is of a width slightly smaller than the width of the slot l2 such as at least to provide a relatively free sliding fit therein. The marking material may be tapered at one end as at IS, the receiving channel of the clip 13 being of substantially corresponding shape so that the clip l3 will tend frictionally to grip the marking material.

The marking material with the clip 13 applied thereto is projected into the open end In of the casing l3 so that the lug IE will slide down in the slot l2 until the end of the clip 13 reaches and engagesthe bottom of the casing II. In this connection the marking material may be of such length that when the clip engages the bottom of the casing II the opposite end of the material will project from the casing to a desired degree. 0n the other hand, it may. be of such length as to lie flush with the open end of the casing should this be desired.

The casing is preferably formed at its upper end with a pocket clip I! bent from an extension of the material of the casing in the case of a, metal casing or otherwise formed on the end of the casing so that the instrument may be readily placed in a pocket and clipped in the ordinary manner of a fountain pen. In this connection, however, it is preferred that the bent or doubled portion I8 of the pocket clip should curve to project slightly inwardly towards'the open mouth Ill of the casing so that when the marking material is disposed in the casing the clip bearing against it presses upon it lightly thus to avoid any tendency of the material to slide within the casing when, for instance, the instrument might be held downwardly.

In use the casing reinforces the marking material and avoids tendency towards breakage when it is used. However, as the material Wears down it is only necessary to slide the material in the casing by means of the acutuating lug l5 and to return the material to its normal position afterwards, which latter operation may be produced in cross section half as large as formerly, thus, in effect saving substantially fifty percent in material while providing for more efiicient results.

The instrument may be made from various materials, including metal or plastic material What I claim as my invention is: n

A marking instrument comprising a casing open at one end and closed at the other, said casing having a longitudinal slot in a wall thereof, an actuating clip slidably carried in the casing having an actuating member projecting v through said slot, said clip being designed to done merely by pushing the end of the marking material. In this way, therefore, not only is it possible to prevent a great deal of the breakage of material as has occurred heretofore, but by us of such an instrument a marking material of a practical length is always provided, whereas the instrument is much more convenient to carry than the marking material alone. Finally by reason of the fact that the material is reinforced by the holder it is possible to provide a piece of marking material which can be receive a material of a cross section receivable within the casing, said actuating member being slidable in said slot to project said material from the open end of the casing for marking purposes, and a pocket clip at the upper end of said casing, said pocket clip being directed slightly towards the opening in the casing to resiliently engage said marking material, thus to restrict free sliding movement of the material in the casing.

SIDNEY C. BROWSE. 

